U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley's March 5 memo to military leaders about unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) promises to deliver a "comprehensive plan" to optimize U.S. intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities by mid- April.
GUARD SUGGESTIONS: Defense Secretary Robert Gates is working on a package of legislative proposals in response to recent recommendations from the Commission on the National Guard and Reserves and should deliver them to Congress by the latter part of April, according to Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.). "I am encouraged by that response and the willingness of the Department to make necessary changes," says Hunter, the ranking Republican on the House Armed Services Committee.
U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Stephen Mundt sharply criticized the U.S. Air Force on March 23, saying the service was not being "collegial" in two major Pentagon initiatives - the operation of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and the development and procurement of the Joint Cargo Aircraft (JCA) program. Addressing a recent proposal by Air Force Gen. T. Michael Moseley, service chief of staff, that the Air Force become the executive agent for medium- and high-altitude UAVs (see p. 4), Mundt said, "We absolutely disagree."
LAUNCHING CAPSULES: The U.S. Navy has awarded Raytheon Co. a $53.4 million contract modification for the procurement of 111 Tomahawk composite capsule launching system capsules and 220 SSGN/SSN CCLS retrofit kits. The work will be performed in Tucson, Ariz., and is expected to be finished in April 2009. The contract was awarded by the Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md.
TOULOUSE, France - Testing issues in Russia and continued uncertainty over the date of NASA's next space shuttle launch have pushed back the first flight of Europe's Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) to September at the earliest, and perhaps to November. The European Space Agency (ESA) originally had hoped to launch the Jules Verne - its pathfinder ATV - to the International Space Station (ISS) this summer. Now it appears that will be the earliest it will be possible to ship the vehicle to the European launch site near Kourou, French Guiana.
FLM AWARD: The U.S. Air Force is awarding Boeing's McDonnell Douglas Corp. a $17.7 million cost-plus-fixed fee contract modification for a joint capabilities technology demonstration of the Focused Lethality Munition, a small bomb designed for use in urban areas that will cause less collateral damage. The 918th Armament Systems Group also plans to exercise a contract option for continued integration and testing of the FLM and engineering support for the Air Force evaluation.
Two Defense Department reports to Congress on March 22 indicated cost benefits from the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) alternate engine program would be negligible, but a third study by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) says there could be long-term savings. All three reports were required by Congress when it passed the fiscal 2007 National Defense Authorization Act.
The Senate Appropriations Committee (SAC) approved legislation March 22 that would transfer supplemental fiscal 2007 funds requested for two Armed Reconnaissance Helicopters (ARH) to replace two UH-60 Black Hawks lost in combat. The roughly $122 billion bill also would fully fund seven other requested UH-60s, according to a summary of the legislation provided by SAC staff. The Senate is expected to take up the bill March 26, SAC Chairman Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) said after a markup hearing.
ENHANCED PAVEWAY: The U.S. Air Force is awarding Raytheon Missile Systems a $17 million firm-fixed-price contract modification for 139 Guided Bomb Unit 28C/B guidance control units and tail kits. The GBU-28C/B, also known as Enhanced Paveway III, possesses a Global Positioning System-aided laser guidance capability and provides improved lethality, survivability and penetration over the predecessor GBU-28B/B, officials said. The work is set to be finished by May 2008, the Defense Department announced March 21.
The U.S. Air Force plans to amend its combat search and rescue (CSAR-X) request for proposals (RFP) to better explain how it evaluates Operations and Support (O&S) costs, after GAO's bid protest office clarifies any remaining issues it has with the competition, the service said March 22.
The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) needs to adopt more transparent criteria for reporting the quantities, cost, and performance of its systems and their components, says a March report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). "GAO recommends that DOD adopt firm baselines, use procurement funds for operational assets, and adopt other measures to better track cost and outcomes against goals," GAO said in the report, "Missile Defense Acquisition Strategy Generates Results but Delivers Less at a Higher Cost."
DEFENSE BUDGETED: House Democrats' new budget resolution provides $507 billion for national defense and another $145 billion for overseas deployments and other activities, which mirrors the Congressional Budget Office's scoring of the Bush administration's fiscal 2008 request and future plans, according to House Armed Services Chairman Ike Skelton (D-Mo.). Skelton supports the March 21 proposal since it meets President Bush's overall request, as the HASC asked the House Budget Committee to do earlier this year.
By 2009, the U.S. Army should have enough data and information on its Future Combat Systems (FCS) program to either buy in completely or go another route, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has reported.
TURBINE SETS: Rolls-Royce Naval Marine Inc. has been awarded a $76.6 million contract to provide the U.S. Navy with DDG-1000 main turbine generator sets, the Defense Department said March 21. The work will be performed in Walpole, Mass., and is expected to be finished by September 2009. The contract was awarded by the Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington Navy Yard, D.C.
U.S. Marine Corps Gen. James Cartwright, the head of U.S. Strategic Command, told members of the House Armed Services Committee March 21 that the development of a conventional intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) for prompt global strike is both needed to counter future threats and also will help the U.S. reduce its nuclear stockpile.
The U.S. Air Force plans to amend the request for proposals (RFP) for its combat, search and rescue (CSAR-X) helicopter program and allow the three industry bidders to resubmit information regarding lifecycle costs, according to an Air Force official. Lifecycle costs were cited by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) in its sustainment of the protests of the CSAR-X award to Boeing by losing bidders Lockheed Martin and Sikorsky.
Aerospace Daily & Defense Report will no longer include the weekly NetDefense supplement on Thursdays, although network-centric warfare (NCW) topics will continue to be covered in the DAILY. With network-centric technologies and concepts becoming increasingly embedded in programs at all levels of the military, refolding NCW coverage back into the DAILY is a move that we feel makes sense.
Most safety experts see major shortcomings in the "see and avoid" methods used by aircraft pilots to forestall collisions, and a Dassault Aviation engineering expert believes unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) will stimulate improvements once a way is found to let them operate in civil airspace. The human eye has many limitations, including a limited field of view and blind zones as well as shortfalls in certain weather and lighting conditions, according to Serge Lebourg, an engineering expert with Dassault Aviation.
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency and Boeing's Sea-Based X-Band Radar (SBX), positioned in the north-central Pacific Ocean, has demonstrated its capability by detecting, tracking and assessing a long-range ballistic missile target launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., company officials declared March 21.
MISSILE HIT: A Belorussian transport aircraft was hit by a ground-fired missile earlier this month but landed safely in Somalia. The Il-76 was flying at about 500 feet when a projectile caused major damage to the fuselage. Transaviaexport Cargo Airline operated the aircraft.
House Democrats are proposing a budget plan for fiscal 2008 and beyond that says the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency should be funded at "an adequate but lower level." They further assert that killing space-based interceptor development would ensure a "more prudent acquisition strategy" while still supporting a "robust" ballistic missile defense program, according to legislation sponsored by House Budget Chairman John Spratt Jr. (D-S.C.).
During testimony on Capitol Hill March 21, U.S. Marine Corps Gen. James Cartwright, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, outlined the growing challenges of defending the nation from cyberattack, which include understanding "the fight that occurs in milliseconds" and making sure freedom of speech for noncombatants is protected.
